Why this Lost Klimt Painting Was One Of His Best
A compelling artwork destroyed by the Nazis
When Gustav Klimt completed this compelling double portrait in 1917, the Viennese painter had reached the height of his artistic development. His painting style had become looser, more direct, marked by densely applied, almost silky textures. Gone was his use of shimmering gold and silver leaf; in their place a rich palette of coral red, lilac blues, salmon and yellow.
What I especially like about this work, The Friends, is the way in which both women engage with the viewer so congenially. Between them — one with her head tilted, with the appearance to my eyes of someone drying their hair, the other upright, her neck lengthened, her lips a little pursed — there is a kind of dual reception, a unison of looking and greeting.
Die Freundinnen or The Friends was one of the last great paintings Klimt made. He died a year after its completion, following a stroke that left him vulnerable to the effects of the 1918 flu pandemic.
Likewise, the original painting no longer exists after it was destroyed during the Second World War.
